Improvement in steering-apparatus



uint trtzt JOHN o. sonnannn AND' cAuLA.

nnrnrnsniv', o-r'NEw vonk, n. Y;

Letters Patent No. 110,793, dated January 3, 1871.'

IMPROVEMENTv `IN lYST-EERING-APPARATUS.

-'.l'he Schedule :eten-ea to in these LettersPatent and making part o 'the `same.

lo all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN 0. SCHRADER and CARL A. MATHIEsEN, ot'l New Yo1k, 'county of New York and in the-State of New York, have invented anew and useful Improvement'in Steering -Apparatus for Vessels; and we do hereby declare the' following to be affulhclear, andl exact description of the saine,| reference being had to' the accompanyingdrawing, making 'a part of this speccation, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of the vapparat-us, with part ofthe steering-wheel shaft removed.l

gigure 2 is a vertical transverse'section on line x a, g. 1.

h Fgure 3 is a bottom view of the cap or-rudder- -Figure 4' is a vertical'section online y y, g.'1.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the tiller'orcrosshead.

Bligure 6 is a perspective view of elastic cushions,- agalnstpwhicb the tiller or cross-head rests.

Figure 7 is a vertical section on'line z z, lig.- 1,

showing the manner in which the cap' is fastened to the rudder.

The same letters of reference, where employed in the several figures, denote identical parts.

This invention relates 'to an improvement in steering-apparatus for vessels; and

It has for its object the protection of the gearing from ldamage by the violence of the waves upon the rudder during a hurricane, orin a heavy sea; to this end, y

We construct the cogged cap, placed over, the tiller or cross-head of the rudder, andby which it is operated from the steering-wheel, through intermediate gearing, with elastic cushions, bearing against the ends offthe cross-head of the rudder, to take up any sudden shock orstrain. upon the latter, as will be more specifically pointed-,out in the following description'and claim. A

'llo enable others skilled in .the art to make and use our invention, we will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

The part A of the rudder whichprojects above the deck B of the vessel, is provided with a tiller or cross-head, E, rmly secured upon it.-

'lhe arms of the latter extend into suitable recesses or openings formed ,in the chambered under side of the cap C, which is placed over it, seated upon the-hub of the cross-head; said cap being held in place upon the shank of the rudder, which'can turn iu its hub by a nut, D, or in any other preferred manner.

A downwardly-projecting ange is formed around `the rim of the cap, interruptediat the points where the arms of the tiller enter it, and from this flange ribs or partitions Of extend .inward to within close proximity of the hub of ,thevtiller.

In this manner the capvis constructed in its under side, with two cellsror chambers upon each side of thetiller, 'as clearly'indicated'inig. 3.

Two series fof] cogs O are formed upon the pe-j riphery of the cap opposite to each other, by which it is lnoved'through worms, hereafter to be-alluded to.

. represent stout cushions of India rubber,

whicharedisposed one in eachchamberof the cap O, with one end resting inv recesses upon opposite sides of'the radial; partitions 0,vforming' suitable abutments, while their other ends, which are armed with metallic ca ps G,vextend into slots cut through :the partitions 0"upon the sides of. the tiller againstv which theyf bear, being held in proper position by"k pins G' upon their ends, entering vertical grooves E' in the said tiller;

Any sudden strainnpon the rudder will be taken up by these elastic cushions, and vthus the vdanger of injury to theoperativej parts of the steering-,apparatus, orto the rudderdu'ring heavy weather, largely diminished.

The metalliccaps-.of the cushion should be shouh dered, as shown in fig'. 6, to abut against the inner side of the partitions, so that their ends may not project too far through them.

The cushions should, inpractice, be made sutilciently stout, so as not to cause any serious interferencewith the operation of the apparatus, and in lieu of rubber springs, metallic springs may be employed, if preferred.

Suitable holes are'bored through the cap and tiller, so that a rigid connection of the -two may be obtained at. any time by inserting stout bolts'O",-as shownin g. 4,

The other parts ot' the apparatus, for which no special"novelty is claimed, may be constructed vand arranged in the manner shownin the drawing, where 'H is the steering-wheel, mounted upon. a horizontal shaft, I', which rests in bearingsl in stand ards I.

lllhe shaft I carries a sectoral -spur-wheel, K, which transmits motion through the intermediate pinions L and M, which are arranged upon a countershaft below it to the pinions N N and O O.

rlhe latter are placed in bearings R upon opposite sides of the cap C and parallel to each other, and they are constructed one with a left-handed, and the other with a right-handed worm, P, which gear into the eogs upon the'periphery of the cap C to oscillate it.'

Having thus described our invention, In testimonywhereof we have signed our-names to What we claim, and desireto secure by Letters Patthis specification in the presence of two subscribing ent, is witnesses.

' J ORN C. SCHRADER.

` The cap O, constructed substantially as set forth, and the tller or crosshea'd E, in combination with CARL A. MATHIESEN. the springs or elastic cushions F, which are arranged Witnesses A. A. SCHERR,

in the former-'to bear against the latter, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. G. WEHRMANN. 

